Congress and AAP come together on a same stage at the Farmers Rally in Delhi

Delhi Farmers Protest March from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street.

Defying the winter chillness, farmers from all over the country converged at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi yesterday to protest against the ruling BJP-led NDA Government policies and demanding a slew of welfare measures. Many of the farmers were seen without clothes on their back, quite agitated shouting slogans demanding waiver of loans and fix better prices for their produce.

For the first time the Kissan Rally provided a platform for the two political leaders, Congress President, Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party patron, Arvind Kejriwal sharing the dais, along with members of several opposition parties, who have rallied behind the farmers.

While speaking at the Kissan Rally, Gandhi said that the country was facing twin challenges such as the bleak future of the farmers and rising unemployment of the youth. The farmers had sought only what they duly owed from the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Apparently, what the farmers got in turn, deviating from the poll promises, was empty rhetoric from Modi administration.

Reacting to the farmers’ plight, Kejriwal took a jibe at the Union Government for its highly publicised insurance for farmers, which the AAP lead termed it as yet another game plan to exploit these hapless farmers. No untoward incidents were reported and when the rally ended peacefully in the evening, the ruling dispensation were blissfully quite, without even responding to the pesant revolt happening under their very nose.

Gandhi assured the peasants that none, not even the Narendra Modi led-NDA Government can silence the growing voice of these farmers and the frustrated unemployed youth of the country. Gandhi asserted that if the nonchalant approach of the government was an insult to the farmers, and the latter will ensure that arrogant government will be removed.

Directly attacking the Government, Gandhi asked as to why the Union Government, which had the capacity to let go off up to the tune of Rs.3.5 lakh crore in dues owed by as many as 15 corporate honchos, while the ruling dispensation is conveniently was hell bent on refusing to wave off the loans of millions of farmers.

Sitaram Yechuri. Photo: Twitter.

The left party, CPI (M), which is supporting the farmers’ agitation asserted that the agricultural grate had nose-dived under the Narendra Modi Government. He further termed the PM as a “Pocket-Mar”, who robs off all public money and in turn give peanuts as a relief. As part of polarising the country on the religous lines to gain power, Yechuri said that every five years, Modi invoked the Ram Mandir card. Kerjriwal accused the Union Government of meeting out step-motherly treatment to these hapless farmers who feed the nation. Stating that the BJP led Government’s Bima Yojana (Insurance) formers was nothing but fraud, he said that tousands and croes of rupees were collected from the farmers accounts and when the farmers were in dire straights, with the crops were destroyed dut to natural disasters, the Union Government was putting lot of terms and conditions. Kejriwal, taking a jibe at the BJP, said: “This is BJP’s Daka Yojana”, – meaning Decoit Scheme in Hindi.

Opposition Unity

Opposition unity at Farmers’ Rally in New Delhi. Photo: IYC.

The farmers rally saw the solidarity of the opposition including representatives of 21 political parties, big and small sharing the dais. Political leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Sitaram Yechuri, Farooq Abdullah, Sharad Pawar, Sharad Yadav joined hands and stood in unison on the stage. When the farmers marched toward Parliament to give a memorandum to the President, they were stopped near the Police Station at the entrance of Parliament Street. Many farmers were seen carrying the skulls of their dear ones who ended their lives due to farm crisis. Also, a group of women from the Telangana State marched on the streets of the capital holding the photos of their deceased husbands, apparently who killed themselves due to financial crisis and crop loss.

Meanwhile, the Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav took a 26-kilometres padayathra protesting against the indifference being shown to the farmers by the ruling party. He walked from Bujwasan to Ramlila Maidan two days back. Yadav said his party was protesting against the loot and exploitation of farmers by the BJP Government. Stating that the entire nation was with the farmers including the media, medical profession, student community, artists and more. Spearheading the agitation is the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), the umbrella body for farmers’ groups, which number in excess of 200.

Barely a week left for the south Indian state of Telangana going to Assembly polls, the Congressand the Telugu Desam party (TDP), which were on either side of the camps, have firmed up their minds to leave the past and forge a new alliance and face the might of Telangana Rasthra Samithi (TRS) led by K. Chandrasekara Rao (KCR). The TDP severed the umbilical chord with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) as early as March this year and its leader, Nara Chandrababu Naidu (N. Chandrababu Naidu) is ever since been toiling to stitch a strong opposition alliance to defeat the ruling BJP led NDA in the federal election to be held in 2019.

Setting aside the age difference, Naidu who is two decades older than the Congress chief, Rahul Gandhi, decided to sail on the same boat, without leaving any speculation as to who will be the Prime Ministerial candidate, backing himself off, Naidu had earlier clarified that he was not into the race.

Gandhi, in fact, had told the New Delhi Television (NDTV) channel last night that the Congress and the TDP were no longer rivals and added that the chemistry is working out pretty well like never before. Stating that the new bonhomie with the TDP and its leader, Naidu is working well, Gandhi added: “We like each other. We think there is a lot we can to together. I think, you are going to see that in the forthcoming polls, we are going to win the elections.”

Gandhi, who visited the capital city of Telangana, Hyderabad yesterday in order to campaign for the alliance, which was firmed up during the meeting he had with Naidu early this month in Delhi, which will be broad-based and long-term.

While speaking on the occasion, Naidu said, “We are very clear that India is very, very important. Therefore, it is our bounden duty for both TDP and Congress and other like minded political parties to stitch an grand alliance to defeat the BJP in the 2018 Lok Sabha polls and save the nation.”

Both Rahul Gandhi and Chandrababu Naidu, taking on the might of TRS will campaign, consisting of public meetings and roadshows. The two leaders will address the voters sharing the dais together in three rallies at Asif Nagar, Khammam and Sanathnagar.

Anti Incumbency Factor

TRS, which is facing anti-incumbency factor, is contesting in all seats. The TDP, which has a slender voter base, since the bifurcation of the combined Andhra, many people had relocated to Vijawada and other place leaving Hyderabad and other regions of Telangana, has now forged alliance with the Congress, which still has some clout. TDP has formed alliance with other political parties such as Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI) and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) and stitched a grand alliance, “Mahakutami“, which is considered as the initial experimentation before the grand alliance could actually take of at the federal level at the General Elections next year.

Facilitator

The new avatar of Naidu is that of a facilitator, who is travelling the length and breadth of the country to iron out differences with various political parties and cobble a grand alliance with a Common Minimum Programme. The understanding the various opposition parties have arrived at is to fight the election on regional basis and depending on the poll outcome, if it is positive, based on the number of seats each party had won in the Lok Sabha seats, then they would sit and decide the Prime Minister.

In order to drum up support to his ambitious plan of grand alliance, Naidu has been visiting Delhi often meeting senior political leaders such as Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party(NCP)and Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference (NC)in addition to the meeting he had with the Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader, Arvind Kejriwal.

If you trace the genesis of the TDP, way back in the early eighties, when Naidu’s father in law and matinee idol, Nandamuri Basava Taraka Rama Rao (NT Rama Rao), a popular actor in the combined Andhra Pradesh wanted to end the mis-rule of Congress. Within months of forming the Telugu Desam Party, Rao rode to power when the State Assembly elections were held in 1983, thus he formed the maiden non-Congress Government in Andhra Pradesh.

Rao introduced several measures including offering rice for the poor for just Rs.2. When his Government was pulled down by the Congress by anointing Nathella Bhaskara Raoby the all powerful Indira Gandhi led Congress Governmentat the helm, Rao took his cadres and MPs to Delhi and protested in front of the Parliament for justice. Rao was also very friendly with the then neighbouring Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Marudur Gopala Menon Ramachandran (MG Ramachandranor more popularly known as MGRlike his counterpart NTR), another cinema icon in the Tamil tinsel town.

Naidu started off his political career as a student leader of the TDP and married NTR’s daughter and after the demise of NTR, took over the mantle from his father in law. In the late nineties, Naidu ran for the Assembly election forging alliance with Left parties. Eventually, the political compulsions drew him to have political understanding with the BJP. At the start of this year, Naidu exited the NDA camp, infuriated over the BJP led federal government’s reticence to give special status to the newly formed state of Andrha Pradesh after the bifurcation of combined Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and Andhra. In fact, the BJP had initially promised the TDP that they would give special status, only to back track and further to frustrate him, refused to fund more for building the capital Amaravatiin AP.

Buriying all the hatchets, Gandhi, who had earlier admitted that both the Congress and the TDP had “a past” – last night said, “We are working together because there is a threat to this nation from the Prime Minister and from the BJP.”

Naidu also added that it was a national mission that all the political parties, shedding their differences had joined hands withe purpose of unseating the BJP in the hustings in 2019.

Diwali Bonus for HD Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah, as the Congress-JDS combine sweeps the Karnataka By-Polls 2018.

In Karnataka, the ruling Congress-Jantata Dal Secular alliance has won four seats out of the five, where by-poll 2018 was held. The Ballari and Mandya Parliamentary seats in addition to Jamkhandi and Ramanagara Assembly seats the Congress-JDS combine won. The BJP candidate won Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency.

Expressing his happiness about the poll outcome, Congress leader P Chidambaram said that the coalition has delivered. Out of the three Parliamentary constituencies, the BJP held two and JDS one and it also holds the prestigious Shivamogga, the stronghold of its State Chief, BS Yeddyurappa.

Loss of Face for BJP

This by-election is all the more important both for the ruling dispensation of Karnataka as well as the BJP after the Assembly polls, said the NDTV report and added that it was a loss of face for the BJP as the Congress-JDS entered into a late coalition to deprive the BJP from forming the Government despite being the single largest party, noted the report. The positive outcome in the by-elections is a shot-in-the-arm for the ruling Congress-JDS alliance in Karnataka, when its longevity was seen with scepticism.

It may be recalled that in 2014, the BJP had won 17 of the 20 Parliamentary seats in the south Indian state of Karnataka, while the Congress won nine and HD Kumaraswamy’s JDS two seats. What is more, the BJP won 104 of the 224 Assembly seats in the election held in May this year.

Yaddyurappa said, “We will introspect the results of Ballari and move ahead. Nevertheless, we are confident that the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will be completely ours.” Earlier, he also accused the Congress-JDS alliance of indulging in rampant misuse of official machinery, while liquor and money was also distributed. At the same time, Yeddyurappa accepted the verdict of the people in this by-election with all humility. Reacting to the poll outcome, Kumaraswamy complimented Congress and added that the former had supported him and so in his personal capacity, it was his duty to support the Congress as well. Terming Rahul Gandhi as innocent politician, he said, “In my interactions with him in the last few months, Rahul came across as very innocent. He has been truthful and honest with me.”

Karnataka By-Poll 2018 Results, Pie-Chart by NDTV on Twitter.

Kumaraswamy also said that the people across India are blessing their alliances. “If you see by-polls across the country, wherever there is a BJP versus alliance battle, the BJP has lost. With our unity and the blessings of the people, we are destined to win”, he said and added that when it came to money power, no other political party could compete with the BJP. “They havve much more money than any other party”, he added.

Modi Wave will not hold water anymore

Stating that the Modi wave do not hold water anymore, Kumaraswamy pointed out, “In 2014, the scenario was different. The country was new to Modi. The people thought that Modi would change the whole country and the whole system. Nevertheless, Modi also made several promises, but after 4.5 years, people have seen what he is capable of. They now know that they are voting for. So the Modi wave factor has completely changed. Modi will not survive 2019.” While concluding, Kumaraswamy hailed the verdict as a ‘Moral Victory” for the Congress-JDS alliance.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party Chief today had a meeting with Congress President Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi today, a meeting, which the former termed it as a “Democratic Compulsion.” Apparently, Naidu had visited Gandhi at the latter’s residence in an attempt to garner opposition unity to take on the ruling BJP at the next year’s Lok Sabha polls, IE reported.

“We have to save the nation and defend democracy. It is a democratic compulsion and we have joined together to protect our country,” Naidu said while addressing the media. This was the TDP chief’s first meeting with Rahul Gandhi after getting out of the alliance with the NDA. The two had shared the dais at the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy in May.

Emphasising the need for opposition parties to unite against the saffron party, Gandhi said, “We had a very good meeting. The gist was that we have to defend the democracy and future of the country. So, we are coming together to work together; all opposition forces must unite. We are not going to get into the past. We are going to talk about the present and the future. Opposition forces need to come together to provide a vision to the country because of the current situation.”

Talking about unemployment and alleged corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal, Gandhi said, “It is very clear that corruption is taking place. Institutions that can investigate are being attacked. A proper inquiry on what all happened, where the money went and who did corruption, that is what I am pushing very aggressively. The nation wants to know this.”

Slew of meetings

Earlier in the day, Naidu had met NCP chief Sharad Pawar and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and held talks of building a nationwide alliance against the saffron party. After meeting Pawar and Abdullah in the afternoon, Naidu had told reporters, “We must protect the future generations. There is a need to chalk out a programme for the future. We must act in the interest of the nation.” Abdullah, on the other hand, said the country was going through “difficult times” and emphasised on the need to “save democracy”.

Expressing concern over “assault” on institutions like the CBI and the RBI, Pawar said the non-BJP parties will come out with a common minimum programme to take on the government. “If we collectively work to save democracy, we can definitely save the institutions. Chandrababu (Naidu) will talk to other state political leaders in this regard,” the NCP chief said. Naidu also met Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. However, TDP sources claimed that the duo met “coincidentally” at the airport.

Watershed

The meeting between Naidu and Gandhi could be a watershed in the history of TDP, established by Naidu’s father-in-law, late NT Rama Tao in the early 1980s with the sole purpose of defeating the Congress in undivided Andhra. He was successful within a year and became the first non-Congress CM of AP in 1983. Now the TDP, under Naidu, is already in talks with the Congress for an alliance in Telangana.

Naidu, who walked out of the NDA alliance this year over demand for special status for Andhra Pradesh, is now trying to bring all like-minded opposition parties together to form an alliance as an alternative to BJP. “I have taken the responsibility to save the country from this threat. It is the duty of all to save the country,” he said.

On his previous visit to the national capital, Naidu had met a cross-section of non-Congress and non-BJP leaders in an effort to bring them together against the NDA. During his visit, he met the likes of BSP chief Mayawati, AAP leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, former BJP leader and government critique Yashwant Sinha, and Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav.

Credible Alternative

Naidu, who was the convenor of the United Front coalition, pointed out that the TDP and he himself had played a role in the formation of the coalition governments in 1989 and later in 1996. He said coalition and minority governments have “done well” to implement “clear policies”, and argued that political compulsions have always brought parties together. He said he will play the role of a “facilitator” in helping evolve a credible alternative and said that he is not interested in becoming the Prime Minister, added the report.

The actor turned politician Kamal Haasan, with the launch of his political party, Makkal Neethi Mandram is keeping his options open. He is trying all combinations and permutations, so to say. Initially, when he launched his party some time back, Haasan had met the Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, who is heading the Left Democratic Front, representing his party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), as many as three times by the end of last year and met Aam Aadmi Party chief, Aravind Kejriwal as well.

This is apparently to keep the BJP at bay. Now Kalam Haasan is exploring more opportunities at the state level to forge alliance with the Congress, provided the latter break ties with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam (DMK) led by MK Stalin. With the ruling AIADMK is in total disarray, with the prospect of staging a come back at the next Assembly elections as well as Parliament hustings, being remote controlled by the National Democratic Government led by Narendra Modi of the BJP.

As early as June this year, Kamal Haasan had met Congress President Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi in order to analyse the political developments in Tamil Nadu. So, the media was privy to the talks Kamal Hassan had with these political parties and hence, it has not elicited any surprice. But now, with his statement, coming as it does, that his party, MNM will not be averse to forge alliance with the Congress, provided, if the latter can get out of the alliance with the DMK, which has come as a surprise. Hassan has broadly hinted that he is game to have truck with Congress, if the latter can come out of the alliance it has with DMK in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections is eliciting interest. The actor turned politician launched his political outfit, MNM in February this year. Ever since, Hassan was extensively touring the state and criticising both the ruling AIADMK as well as the Union Government. Yesterday, in an interview he gave to the Tamil television news channel, Thanthi TV, Kamal Hassan categorically said that if the DMK-Congress coalition breaks, then MNM would be game to work an alliance with the Congress for the next year’s general elections. He further said that he need to have a discussion with the Congress in order to ensure that the alliance the MNM will have with the Congress would bring about tangible benefit to the people of Tamil Nadu.

Interestingly, all these while, Kamal Haasan wasn’t critical about DMK and this is the first time that the actor tuned politician had come out in open against the DMK as well. But, he has all the reason to go against the DMK, as the party had snubbed him recently, when the DMK and its allies decided not to attend the all party meeting to discuss the Cauvery issue, proposed by Kamal Hassan. All along, he was critical about the ruling AIADMK as well as the BJP Government at the Centre. Apparently, Kamal Hassan has now decided to take on the might of the DMK as well.

Kamal Haasan had plunged into politics with the launch of his party, MNM aiming at fighting corruption as his main election plank. He had categorically told at the time of launching his party that he will not have truck with any party which is tainted with corruption. “As both the AIADMK and DMK are involved in corruption, we have ultimately decided to work towards throwing out these two parties from Tamil Nadu”, Haasan told the television channel. At the time of launching his party the actor did say that he would stop acting in films and take up full time politics working towards the welfare of his state, nevertheless, he had also hinted at the interview that he was at present, working on the squeal to Thevar Magan, which was a blockbuster movie released in 1992 with a strong caste-based story line.